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• Tangibles + Programming + Audio Stories = Fun

  Varsha Koushik, Shaun K. Kane · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This poster introduces Story Blocks, a tangible programming toolkit designed to make block-based programming accessible to blind and visually impaired users. Block-based programming languages like Scratch and Blockly are popular tools for teaching children to code, but they…

  programming education · blindness · visual impairment · tangible interaction · children

• NavCog3: An Evaluation of a Smartphone-Based Blind Indoor Navigation Assistant with Semantic Features in a Large-Scale Environment

  Daisuke Sato, Uran Oh, Kakuya Naito, Hironobu Takagi, Kris Kitani, Chieko Asakawa · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents NavCog3, a smartphone-based indoor navigation assistant for people with visual impairments, evaluated at scale in a 21,000 m² shopping mall in Japan. Unlike many prior indoor navigation prototypes that were tested only in constrained lab environments, NavCog3…

  indoor navigation · blindness · visual impairment · wayfinding · Bluetooth beacons

• Opinions and Preferences of Blind and Low Vision Consumers Regarding Self-Driving Vehicles: Results of Focus Group Discussions

  Julian Brinkley, Brianna Posadas, Julia Woodward, Juan E. Gilbert · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the opinions, concerns, and preferences of 38 blind and low vision participants regarding self-driving vehicle technology through eight focus group sessions conducted over two days in north central Florida. Participants had a mean age of 51.5 (range 18-90),…

  blindness · low vision · autonomous vehicles · accessible transportation · mobility

• Imagining Artificial Intelligence Applications with People with Visual Disabilities using Tactile Ideation

  Cecily Morrison, Edward Cutrell, Anupama Dhareshwar, Kevin Doherty, Anja Thieme, Alex Taylor · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents a novel tactile ideation methodology for working with people with visual disabilities to imagine future AI applications, and reports on cross-cultural workshops conducted in the UK (6 participants) and India (8 participants). Rather than asking users about…

  artificial intelligence · blindness · visual impairment · participatory design · design methodology

• The Tangible Desktop: A Multimodal Approach to Nonvisual Computing

  Mark S. Baldwin, Gillian R. Hayes, Oliver L. Haimson, Jennifer Mankoff, Scott E. Hudson · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper identifies fundamental limitations of audio-only computer interfaces for blind and low-vision users and proposes a multimodal tangible alternative. The researchers conducted a 4-month field study at EmpowerTech, a computer training school for adults who are blind or…

  screen readers · tangible interfaces · haptic feedback · blindness · multimodal interaction

• Consistency of a Tactile Pattern Set

  Denise Prescher, Jens Bornschein, Gerhard Weber · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a fundamental challenge in tactile graphics production: how to create fill patterns that remain recognizable and distinguishable across different production media with varying resolutions. The three media studied were microcapsule (swell) paper (>20 dpi),…

  tactile graphics · blindness · non-visual access · fill patterns · cross-media consistency

• Personalized Assistive Web for Improving Mobile Web Browsing and Accessibility for Visually Impaired Users

  Dongsong Zhang, Lina Zhou, Judith O. Uchidiuno, Isil Y. Kilic · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical gap in mobile web accessibility: while screen readers enable blind users to access web content, they do not effectively support skimming—the ability to quickly scan content to find relevant information. The authors propose PAW (Personalized…

  mobile accessibility · screen readers · web adaptation · personalization · blindness

• Principles for Designing Large-Format Refreshable Haptic Graphics Using Touchscreen Devices: An Evaluation of Nonvisual Panning Methods

  Hari Prasath Palani, Nicholas A. Giudice · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a fundamental challenge in touchscreen-based accessibility: how to provide non-visual access to large-format graphical materials like maps that exceed the device's screen size. While touchscreens represent the fastest-growing computing platform among people…

  tactile graphics · blindness · touchscreen accessibility · haptic feedback · spatial cognition

• Improving the Accessibility of Mobile OCR Apps Via Interactive Modalities

  Michael Cutter, Roberto Manduchi · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical usability challenge in mobile OCR for blind users: while OCR technology itself works well, it requires properly framed images at adequate resolution—something difficult to achieve without visual feedback. Blind users commonly hold the camera too…

  OCR · mobile accessibility · blindness · camera guidance · computer vision

• Multimodal Perception of Histological Images for Persons Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

  Ting Zhang, Bradley S. Duerstock, Juan P. Wachs · 2017 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This research addresses a critical barrier preventing blind or visually impaired (BVI) students and scientists from participating in STEM laboratory work: the inability to perceive real-time visual scientific data from instruments like light microscopes. While tactile graphics…

  blindness · STEM accessibility · sensory substitution · haptic feedback · multimodal interface

• People with Visual Impairment Training Personal Object Recognizers: Feasibility and Challenges

  Hernisa Kacorri, Kris M. Kitani, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Chieko Asakawa · 2017 · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This paper explores whether people with visual impairments can train their own personalized object recognition systems using a smartphone camera and a small number of example photos. The authors address a fundamental limitation of existing object recognition tools for blind…

  object recognition · computer vision · blindness · transfer learning · personalization